Biden's speech is making me feel better about him.

[madaboutharry]

I was rather thrown last night over Biden's performance at the debate. Just now he sounded like the Joe we all know.

Biden has many more debates ahead of him and he needs to get his game together for next time.

He needs to demonstrate that he has grown and changed since the days when he cast the wrong votes.

[EveHammond13]

1. time for some tough love for Joe. the stakes are too high to miss opportunities.

[elias7]

2. The thing that bothers me about Biden...

is his general speech and enunciation. It is hard for me to follow the flow of his thoughts because he is continually misspeaking and often slurs his words, causing him to go back and repeat. I don’t know if he always misspoke in this fashion but the new slurring bothers me.

[thesquanderer]

5. That bothers me too, and I think could weaken him in a debate with Trump (nt)

[treestar]

24. Huh? The Dotard is way worse!

How many times have we laughed at his mistakes in speaking?

[thesquanderer]

40. Despite his verbal flaws, Trump has the delivery of a natural entertainer. (n/t)

[crimycarny]

10. Agree--but I read he has to speak a certain way due to his stutter

I know I'm not stating anything that everyone else doesn't already know, but Biden had to overcome a stutter. I remember reading that he learned to speak a certain way which removed the stutter. That might be why he has a slight slur. The misspeaking is another matter, obviously, but that isn't going to change at his age. It's part of the whole package.

I thought Harris did an amazing job last night, but I'm also cynical enough to think that at least a part of her attack on Joe was political tactics. I don't think Joe Biden has a racist bone in his body. If he was against busing 30+ years ago, it wasn't due to any sort of abhorrence of blacks and whites being mixed together. Before I make a judgment on Joe's 30-year-old vote on busing, I need to do more research into the WHOLE situation and context that formed Joe Biden's stance. The question to me would be, will Joe Biden try to do his best to help minorities if he were President. That answer is "yes".

For some history on Joe Biden's stance on busing, and reasons for it, as well as American's views on forced busing--take a look at this article: (only 4% of whites and 9% of blacks wanted compulsory busing).

https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/06/28/joe-biden-kamala-harris-busing-integration-schools/?utm_term=.53cdec13a4a4

[onetexan]

37. I didnt even know Joe stuttered. My impression of his answers

Were, though some were rushed because of the time constraint , he was for the most part well thought out and thoughtful.

Joe Biden has given his entire life to public service, and his record of civil rights has been attested by the likes of John Lewis. Theres no question in my mind he fights for minorities.

[True Blue American]

30. Most people who wear dentures today have implants

That keep them securely in place.

[thesquanderer]

38. re: "could swear at the debate he was struggling with the fit of his dentures and that explained..."

If that's the case, he was similarly struggling at the Poor People's Campaign Presidential Forum and elsewhere.

[Skya Rhen]

39. Joe has always been open about the stuttering problem that he has struggled with, all his life.

Snip...

Vice President Biden is an inspiration to those who stutter, proving that struggling with stuttering does not have to hinder your personal success.

https://www.stutteringhelp.org/content/joe-biden

[emmaverybo]

46. Dentures? He has to slow down and enunciate. Diction, Joe. NT

[Hoyt]

3. He should have responded better last night/week, but he rectified it today, and then some.

[emmaverybo]

9. Not according to MSM. NT

[crimycarny]

13. Did you hear Chris Matthews last night?

Last night Chris Matthews was interviewing Kamala Harris and he asked her "Do you think Joe Biden is finished after tonight?". I wanted to reach into the TV and slap him. I've never liked Chris Matthews, can't stand the way he is constantly interrupting his guests, and that question was typical Chris. To Kamala's credit, she said "No, absolutely not" and went onto praise Joe Biden's accomplishments.

[onetexan]

19. glad to hear that re: Kamala's comments on Joe after the fact. The MSM are blood suckers

[Vegas Roller]

20. Kamala is a class act. n/t

[treestar]

25. They need a horse race, so it will not matter what Biden says or does

It will be questioned, wrong, etc. They need at least one of the other candidates to get to a point they are neck and neck. So it's too close to call and all that. They only have six months left. They need all of the candidates who poll above the Dotard to be brought neck and neck with him. Their only method is bringing everyone down. That is why so many people hate politics.

[emmaverybo]

4. It is debatable that forced busing was the right way to go. It was not an unmitigated success.

[BlueWI]

49. There have been no unmitigated successes in school desegregation.

Hence, the level of school segregation is at levels not seen since the 1980s.

Busing in one form or another has been one tool to achieve a better racial balance, which helped in some cases, led to excessive conflicts in others. Anti-busing rhetoric in those days was frequently racist and helped make the country more hostile to future solutions.

So you're right, busing wasn't an unmitigated success. But at least it was an earnestly applied remedy, like few other strategies before or since.

[videohead5]

6. He was rushing last night

He was trying to rush his answers last night and that did not help.

[hlthe2b]

7. Yes, but MSM is now saying Kamala (and them by extension) is "willing to let it go if he apologizes"

then in the next breath, the roundtable on MSNBC are suggesting a list of required apologies/RE-apologies for any number of things in his many decades-long career.

I love Kamala, but this is really disturbing to me.

Does he owe explanations for things? yes, of course. Might he feel differently about some votes/positions he took that he feels an apology is appropriate-- sure.

But the context of these decisions and the times in which they occurred is important. That's why when given sufficient time to explain them (rather than the 20-second on demand he got yesterday), he can reasonably do so.

I have yet to hear anyone suggest his very long history was anything but pro-diversity pro-rights for everyone and certainly not that he was racist in any way. Yet this feels like a threat held over him: "Apologize in a way I demand" or by implication, face further damage from those who will imply that you are racist...

That is how it feels to me and I'm not happy about it. Kamala (and others) have every right to express the pain of those past experiences but laying it all on Biden is beyond inexplicable.

[emmaverybo]

8. I do not think the demand for apologies will stop. It is more a trap set for him than anything

that serves anyone. Once down that path, and if we extend this requirement to all political
officials or future candidates, it will go on and on like a test.

So should Obama apologize to our gay children for his stance against their having full civil
rights, all House and Senate members for their vote for the Iraq war—actually not for the war, but
Bush authority to go into Iraq?

[madaboutharry]

12. I don't think demanding apologies helps anyone.

I think we should just allow people to demonstrate that they no longer think about things the same way.

[emmaverybo]

21. Excellent idea.

[crimycarny]

11. Exactly!

"That is how it feels to me and I'm not happy about it. Kamala (and others) have every right to express the pain of those past experiences but laying it all on Biden is beyond inexplicable. "

You summarized my feelings on this perfectly. Joe Biden was against compulsory busing, as were the majority of American's back then (and now). Only 4% of whites and 9% of blacks supported compulsory busing.

There have been times in our history when two opposing sides have supported the same idea, even if for completely different reasons/motivations. Going after Joe Biden is disingenuous and mainly for political gain, IMO.

[onetexan]

14. MSM BS. Kamala and anyone else accusing him of crap needs to be apologizing

We need to remember the MSM sensationalizes any newsbit they can to get readership/viewership. Don't fall for it. We Dems need to stick together. Let's not eat our own. Let's support all of our candidates. They will work it out. In the end we all need to support the candidate who wins the Primary. The biggest threat to all of us is the Idiot. We need to remember he & his enablers are our enemies, not other Dems candidates.

[Thekaspervote]

16. Indeed

[treestar]

26. Apology demands are stupid anyway

Especially over this stuff. A person will only do that when they want to.

I have been on Kamala's Facebook page, and there are a lot of really ugly accusations there - the right wing is already at work. No candidate can escape. Why we have to dwell on the negative is a strange thing about human nature.

[Kahuna7]

15. Joe should challenge his opponents to put up their civil rights

accomplishments against his.

[Thekaspervote]

17. Oh great idea

[peggysue2]

18. Yes!

[Cha]

22. Mahalo, Kahuna!

[Kahuna7]

23. Mahalo, Baby!

[Cha]

43. Aloha!

Whew!

[Kahuna7]

31. FYI, Joe Biden, together with Ted Kennedy were Democratic LEADERS..

[Kahuna7]

33. Too bad, he didn't ride to her rescue but that wasn't his job.

And he didn't vote for Thomas. So there's that.

[Cha]

44. That must have been

a piece of work!

[True Blue American]

34. Joe was asked to speak at Thurmond Funeral

Here is the transcript. Keep in mind who spoke at John McCain’s funeral.

Here is the transcript of Joe speaking.

https://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/joebidenstromthurmondeulogy.htm

[True Blue American]

41. No, it is not irrelevant

Some one posted Biden Eulogized Thurmond. This is his eulogy.

Did you bother to read it? Has everything to do with what has been posted in this thread.

[True Blue American]

42. If you refused after

Serving with someone for years it would be hard to turn down. You would be accused of reverse bias if you did what you posted.

The Senate was always known as a place of respect no matter how you disagree. That is why they have rules.

[Cha]

45. Thank You for that, True Blue American!

Right.. just as President Obama was asked to speak at McCain's funeral.

[emmaverybo]

48. 👏 👏 👏 👏.

[emmaverybo]

47. This speech is beautiful NT